1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a terminal operation system for operating at least one computer terminal (operated terminal) by at least one other computer terminal (operating terminal) by utilizing the corresponding input devices such as keyboards and mice connected to the operating terminals, where a plurality of operated terminals and operating terminals are connected to each other in a network.
2. Description of the Related Art
With the development of computer network systems such as local area network (hereinafter, referred to as LAN) and the internet in recent years, computers have been used in various ways. One of them is an electronic conference system in which a large display computer is used as a large-sized projector screen, or an electronic whiteboard, a plurality of operating terminals for conference participants are connected to each other via a network, and conference participants proceed the conference by showing materials on the large screen.
This electronic conference system is designed to be used by connecting a plurality of operating terminals for conference participants in a conference room where the electronic conference is held and a plurality of operating terminals for remote conference participants via the network. In this electronic conference system, electrically prepared documents (data files made with such as word processors and presentation tools) are opened from every operating terminal with an appropriate application and displayed on a projector screen. An electrically prepared documents of interest is pointed out and explained with pointing devices such as a mouse, and further edited through input devices cooperatively. The operating terminals for electronic conference participants are used as terminals for operating the electronic whiteboard via the network as well as local terminals for the individual users.
In general, a personal computer (hereinafter, referred to as PC) is designed to be operated by one person who is using it. Therefore, when a PC is used as a shared PC such as an electronic whiteboard where a plurality of users can simultaneously operate, some kind of exclusive control of the operation input to the PC is necessary in order to limit the number of persons who can actually perform the operation input to the PC. For this exclusive control, the operation authority is introduced.
In terms of the operation authority, the technology for automatically switching the assignment of the operation authority between operating terminals for conference participants is known. In this technology, when a terminal receives a request to acquire the operation authority from another terminal while operating an operated terminal after acquiring the operation authority, the operating authority is switched after asking another terminal whether the operation authority can be transferred or by determining the priority of the command sent out by the terminal requesting the operation authority.
In the above technology, only one operation authority is set, and the operation authority can be acquired by only one operating terminal. Therefore, once one operating terminal acquires the operating authority, the other terminals cannot operate the operated terminal at all.
In the electronic conference system in which one operated terminal is operated by a plurality of operating terminals, an exclusive control is necessary so that simultaneous operation input is inhibited only with respect to data input that changes or updates a data content on the operated terminal if the data is input. However, simultaneous operations cause no problem with respect to a pointing operation in which a certain area in the screen is pointed in the same manner as a mouse. On the contrary, in the electronic conference, in order to enhance mutual communication and convenience for proceeding the conference, it is preferable to provide a function that enables a plurality of conference participants to perform the pointing operation on a large-sized projector or electronic white board simultaneously.
With respect to the above problem, simultaneous pointing operations can be performed by providing several levels of operation authorities. In other words, a plurality of kinds of operation authorities that are layered according to the operation content are provided, such as a data input operation authority for a data input operation to an operated terminal, and a pointer operation authority only for pointing operations such as a mouse operation and a pointer movement. According to those kinds of operation authorities, only one operating terminal with the data input operation authority is allowed to input data to the operated terminal, and at the same time the other operating terminals are given only the pointer operation authority for the operated terminal. Thus, data inputs and pointing operations can be simultaneously realized without any confusion.
However, a method for controlling the operation authority for a screen such as a large-sized projector in conventional electronic conference systems has posed the following problems yet to be solved.
Firstly, since an operation authority is set to the operation on the entire screen provided by the operated terminal, in an environment of multiple windows, the operation authority is moved every time when applications and windows are switched, thereby causing a complexity of operations. For example, when a plurality of windows are on the screen and one window displays a main presentation document for a conference and another window displays an input screen on which to take the minutes of the proceeding of the conference, the operations by a main speaker and the operation of taking the minutes by a person in charge proceed simultaneously. In this case, the operation authority is frequently switched, thereby disturbing a smooth proceeding of the conference.
The second problem is a conflict between an operation based on operation authority set to an operating terminal and a direct operation by an operated terminal itself. In general, the operated terminal that provides a screen to be operated simultaneously by the operating terminal is also a PC, and, from the viewpoint of efficient utilization of resources, it is assumed that the operated terminal is also used by a conference participant as a operating terminal. In this case, the operation of the screen from the operated terminal is a direct operation to itself and not restricted based on the operation authority. Therefore, when a PC is used as an operated terminal and as an operating terminal, the direct operation as the operated terminal and the operation based on the operation authority as an operating terminal in the electronic conference system conflicts each other. Thus, when the operated terminal is possibly to be directly operated, prevention of the conflict with the operation authority is necessary.
The third problem is that release or transfer of an operation authority do not always proceed smoothly in an actual use. In other words, since a data input operation authority excludes other users"" operation for a certain period to allow exclusive input operations, conference participants usually do not struggle for obtaining the operation authority. They do not request that the operation authority should be transferred when another participant is holding it, or rather sometimes tend to hesitate to acquire it. In a situation where one operating terminal is currently holding the operation authority, and after a series of input operations, speech or oral explanation is continued while the operation authority remains in the operating terminal that is not used, there is a problem in that the other conference participants find it hard to acquire the operation authority. Also, in a situation where there are a plurality of screens and operated terminals, an operation authority is set to each screen and a main speaker as the master of the ceremony uses a plurality of screens (for example, one display showing document 1 and another display showing document 2), even when the speaker is involved in operating only one of the screens for a certain period, the operation authorities for both of the screens often are held by the speaker without being released.
With regard to the above-described problems, in an environment of multiple windows, it is an object of the present invention to provide a terminal operation system that allows edition by simultaneous operations of individual applications on individual windows on a shared screen and that can avoid the conflict of operation input that might occur in each window. Hereinafter, the shared screen means the screen such as a large-sized display provided by the operated terminal and the screen is operated commonly by at least one operating terminal simultaneously. When there are plural operating terminals that have operating authority for the applications on the shared screen, the screen can be operated commonly by the plural operating terminals simultaneously.
Furthermore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a terminal operation system that can avoid the conflict between a direct operation to a window on a shared screen from an operated terminal and an operation based on the operation authority in an electronic conference system.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a terminal operation system that can prevent the operation authority from holding without being used and that can perform smooth release and transfer of the operation authority in an actual use.
To solve the above problems, a terminal operation system according to the present invention, uses an input/output device connected to a first computer terminal to operate a second computer terminal in a communication channel where a plurality of computer terminals are connected to each other. The second computer terminal includes a display portion, a display controlling portion for controlling and displaying a plurality of processing objects on the display portion, and an operation authority managing portion for managing and controlling setting and assignment of an operation authority individually to each of the plurality of processing objects. The first computer terminal acquires the operation authority for each of the processing objects that the first computer terminal desires to operate from the operation authority managing portion so as to perform operation input to the processing object based on the acquired operation authority.
With this embodiment, the operation authority can be set to each of the processing objects precisely, improving the convenience for the electronic conference participants, leading to a smooth proceeding of the conference. For example, when there are a conference material and the minutes of the conference as processing objects, a main speaker can hold the operation authority for the material and a secretary can hold the operation authority for the minutes. Also, when electronic conference participants bring their own materials together and have them displayed on the shared screen, each of the electronic conference participants can hold the operation authority for his own material.
It is preferable that the second computer terminal includes an operation object managing portion for specifying one processing object that is currently operable for processing among the plurality of processing objects displayed on the display portion, and an operation input accepting portion for accepting operation input to the processing object specified by the operation object managing portion. The operation authority managing portion treats only the operation authority set to the processing object specified in the operation object managing portion as effective, the operation input accepting portion accepts only the operation input from the first computer terminal holding the operation authority. When the processing object specified by the operation object managing portion is changed, the operation authority managing portion treats only the operation authority set to the changed processing object as effective, and the operation input accepting portion accepts only the operation input from the first computer terminal that newly has acquired the operation authority.
With this embodiment, when there are a plurality of processing objects, one processing object can be specified and made active. Then, the operation input via the network is supplied to the above active processing object, causing no confusion. When the processing object to become active is changed, the processing object to be specified by the operation object managing portion is changed. Then, the new processing object becomes active, and the processing object that had been active returns to a usual state, thereby switching the state smoothly.
Furthermore, the terminal operation system of the present invention can be configured by the computer based platform by installing the processing program that can provide processing steps for realizing the above-mentioned terminal operation system. With this embodiment, by having the computer read the present recording medium and executing the processing steps, using the computer, the terminal operation system in which the operation authority can be set precisely to each of the processing object can be realized.